(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall, and more particularly, to a MSE wall system having a double wall structure for preventing deformation of the rear screen, which supports the load of the backfill, from being transferred to the front panel forming the appearance of the retaining wall.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall, which was developed in 1960s, has been constructed using a front panel made of a thin steel panel and reinforcing elements such as metal strips. This first-introduced type MSE wall resisted the external loads by minimizing the soil pressure applied to the front panel by the frictional resistance of the reinforcing elements and by structurally strengthening the backfill by compaction along with inserted reinforcements. In addition, the front panel was made using thin steel plates to maximize its functionality by allowing the soil pressure applied thereon to be deformed to minimize the actual load. However, using the thin plates for the front panels brought up secondary problems such as local deformation and corrosion which resulted in poor aesthetic appearance. As a result, the first-introduced type of MSE wall was not widely applied.
Afterwards, relating technologies have been developed, so that the MSE wall structure has been modified as shown in FIG. 1. Specifically, the front panel is structured in concrete panels or blocks, and then mechanically stabilized by inserting reinforcing elements such as steel strips, fibers or plastic-based reinforcing elements having polymer coatings. The front panel made of a rigid body such as a concrete panel or block may provide excellent appearance. However, it is not structurally stabilized because stress is concentrated on a jointing portion between the rigid front panel and the reinforcing element installed to reinforce the rear ground which structurally exhibits flexible behavior. As a result, fracture may be generated in the jointing portion. In addition, considering that the entire structure should exhibit flexible behavior, the rigid front panel is not advantageous to the safety of the entire structure. For this reason, the conventional MSE structure has various problems such as local deformation, fracture in the jointing area, and global deformation due to long-time creep. Continuous development in technologies promotes complementary countermeasures such as slide joints, separated front panels, etc. in order to solve such problems. Unfortunately, such countermeasures proved to be not a substantial solution but just variations of specifications to alleviate the problems.